Weight Management

Stepping on the scales to find that the number in front of you hasn’t budged can make you feel defeated, especially when you feel that you’ve eaten well and stuck to your gym routine.

So, what’s going on?

Factors that can affect your weight

The regulation of food intake in the body is a very complex process, which involves biochemical signals from many sources including the brain-gastrointestinal tract, fat stores and the pancreas. Even the fat cells themselves are very highly specialised to play important roles in energy storage, fatty acid metabolism and glucose regulation.

The digestive system needs to process and deliver nutrients to the whole body. A stressed digestive system is less able to process energy and nutrients for the rest of the body. More than 70% of the body’s immune system is in the gut and once the immune response is triggered in the body, the body feels that it is ‘under siege’ thus hoarding supplies, storing fluid and increasing weight.

If the immune system is activated, this leads to inflammation and swelling. 90% of the serotonin produced in the body is found in the gut; serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for regulating appetite, mood, sleep, and relaxation.

Low serotonin levels can cause a cycle of cravings which are satisfied by foods such as carbohydrates which destabilize insulin and blood sugar and ultimately cause additional weight gain; in other words, a vicious circle and it takes an overall approach to ‘undo’ the damage done. As well as the foods you’re eating, diabetes, thyroid problems and vitamin D deficiency have all been associated with weight gain.